Song · Elvis Costello & the Attractions
“13 Steps Lead Down” by Elvis Costello & the Attractions
“13 Steps Lead Down” by Elvis Costello & the Attractions appears on 4 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 1994 and 2003. Its best result is #55 on the Radio & Records Top 94 Songs of 1994. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #176 alternative song of 1994 and #5,039 alternative song of all time.
"13 Steps Lead Down" turned up on Brutal Youth, Elvis Costello's 14th studio album, in 1994, and it's the sound of the old firm back in harness, one of the record's tracks with the reunited Attractions, his longtime backing band, cracking along behind him. Costello knocked it out in a single day's session, and it has that rushed, elbows-out urgency, with a lyric that folds in El Escorial and the twelve-step recovery movement.
Put out as the album's second single, it got to number 59 in the UK. Critics have since hailed it as Costello getting back to his punk roots, and it has become a favorite at his shows.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 93 | WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD | WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1994 | 100 |
| 1994 | 55 | Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) | Radio & Records Top 94 Songs of 1994 | 94 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1835 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 991 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
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